3 way scrap in the alley way...

[nobody]

Well...it looks like the March Madness bands are all chosen, so I don't have to worry about stepping on any toes if I put up something similar now. I've been enjoying them quite a bit, but there are a few folks I'd like to see in on the action. Since this isn't the main fight, I'll just figure these guys never made it into the ring and started tussling outside. Somebody must have tried to gank the others. All heaveyweights, I'm thinking this could get interesting.

[Dusty Chalk]

I think Iggy could kick both their asses, but I like Bowie more.

[Gresh]

Hmmm...all three probably had their peaks then kind of went away for a bit. Iggy seems to have been ressurected over the last few years - maybe it was the use of his music in some hipster films (or maybe the cruise line commercial), Bowie as of late seems to be a bit more relevant though not nearly as big as his heyday and Lou just seems to be under the radar for an extended period. For my quid I'm voting Iggy - his music, for me has aged the best.

[newtrix1]

Hmmm...all three probably had their peaks then kind of went away for a bit. Iggy seems to have been ressurected over the last few years - maybe it was the use of his music in some hipster films (or maybe the cruise line commercial), Bowie as of late seems to be a bit more relevant though not nearly as big as his heyday and Lou just seems to be under the radar for an extended period. For my quid I'm voting Iggy - his music, for me has aged the best.

My final matchup was going to be Lou Reed vs. Neil Young. However, I read this past week that Prince was elected to the R & R HoF, so I felt like getting him into the MMM polls. Putting Prince against Reed or N Young seemed like a mismatch, so I popped Bjork in there.

Also, fyi, I have tons of other artists on a list, and since this quick poll type thing seems popular, I wouldn't mind doing it again some time in the future. I'll surely request some artist noms beforehand (so it's not biased toward my personal taste).

As far as Bowie/Reed/Pop, goes, Bowie is by far my favorite (with Reed second). I'm sadly unfamiliar with Iggy Pops work.

I'm also frustrated that I don't have the free time to reply to some of the comments currently on the board. There's some good stuff going on here, but reality always seems to get in the way.

[3-LockBox]

After beating the crap out of himself (in front the bewildered Reed and Bowie), Iggy holds Lou Reed's arms behind his back and Bowie kicks Reed in the nards, then both Iggy and David take turns kicking Reed unconscious, shouting "Your 15 minutes of fame ended 3 decades ago". Then, Iggy shouts obsenities at Bowie until he starts crying. Iggy wins when Bowie escapes in a speeding get-away car driven by Mick Jagger.

[skewiff]

David Bowie.
The man has invented and re-invented himself for over 30 years, he is a major major artist. I believe he is one of the greatest of all Rock figures, and a major influence on countless others.
Having said that I also realize, that both Lou and Iggy were big influences on Bowie, and in return he gave both their careers major kick's up the arse in the early '70's. Transformer and Berlin being big fave's of mine.
As the poll was for Lou and not the Velvets his career has been somewhat more spotty, not withstanding his occasional great album, the two above and also New York.
Tony

[paper warrior]

Iggy "Search and Destroy" all competition. Unfortunately that's the breath of my knowledge of Iggy besides the words for 'I wanna be Your Dog" - gotta rectify that deficiency real soon!

Also my fave Lou Reed is the live White Light White Heat.

Heard that Ch-Ch-Changes song in a commercial recently and now I can't get it out of my head. I think I'm going mad.

[ForeverAutumn]

As much as loved 3LB's fight description (it made me laugh out loud), I have to go with Bowie. I don't know much of Lou Reed's music. I do like Iggy's music. But, of the three, it's Bowie who has been the biggest influence on me musically. Purchasing Ziggy Stardust changed my musical life forever.

Even though I haven't truly enjoyed a Bowie release since Scary Monsters (although I am digging Reality), I do admire him that he's been able to stick around and still sell albums and tour regularly. And although his last few albums may not have been my thing, I admire the creativity of his music. He's never afraid to experiment.

It's been 35 years since Space Oddity was released and Bowie has managed to roll with the punches and change with the times and still play to sell-out crowds in arena's that hold 20,000+.

[Mr MidFi]

For the record, Lou Reed already did beat the crap out of Bowie in a public place (OK, it was more like he biatch-slapped him while they were both drunk).

I'm voting Bowie. It's not even close.

[dph1965]

But I gotta contend that this would be a dogfight.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

But ultimately it's between Reed and Bowie, with Iggy, notwithstanding his Stooges output and "Lust For Life's" greatness, relegated to also-ran status.

On the one hand you've got Bowie, who's output over a rediculously long period of time has been more consistently great than Reed's, plus he had a hand in both Iggy's and Lou's careers. On the other hand you've got Reed, the driving force behind a band that made some of my favorite albums ever and was the major influence over the type of rock music I like most. But who's output has been spotty since VU, and arguably irrelevant since New York.

I love Bowie's albums from Hunky Dory through Scary Monsters, but I have to go with Reed, if you take into account the VU albums, he has just as many great albums as Bowie, and ultimately ones that are more important both personally and historically.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[mad rhetorik]

All three of them are practically rock icons. Lou Reed is the original NYC hipster and (along with John Cale) the driving force of the VU, but his solo career is very uneven--for every Transformer and Berlin he's got at least two or three middling-to-poor albums, and that's not even counting Metal Machine Music (a nice pisstake at his record label, however). He's pretty much washed up these days. His Edgar Allan Poe tribute The Raven was one of the most lackluster recent albums I've heard. Lou's also reputed to be a serious creep personality-wise, and some of his behavior in interviews bears this out.

Then we come to Iggy. The original Motor City Madman (f--k Ted Nugent) and arguably rock 'n' roll's all-time-greatest frontman. He's snorted coke with Miles Davis, virtually thrown himself into any nearby audience, cut/writhed around/smeared himself with peanut butter on stage, he's just insane (or at least he used to be). Back in '69-73 he did things that made the Marilyn Mansons and Alice Coopers of this world look like Catholic school teachers. He founded the greatest proto-punk outfit ever with a bunch of drugged-out crazies from Detroit, and the two resulting LP's, The Stooges and Fun House (also Raw Power, though that wasn't the same band) are stone-cold classics that shaped EVERYTHING that would be known as punk. However, after 1973 The Stooges were more or less washed up. The Idiot and Lust For Life are clearly the best two releases from The Igster's solo career--after that it was a slow slip into mediocrity. His latest album Skull Ring has him collaborating with Sum41. Embarrassing. Fortunately, The Stooges are reputed to be regrouping, so I'm not writing off Ig just yet. He may still have some life left in 'im.

That leaves Bowie for the win. He's got about a solid decade of classic music under his belt--from his early glam Ziggy days (Space Oddity to Aladdin Sane) to his plastic soul Thin White Duke days (Young Americans and Station To Station) and then finally to his Berlin Trilogy (Low, Heroes, and Lodger) and Scary Monsters after that, he could virtually do no wrong. He's collaborated with both of the above artists, and also with a bunch of others ranging from Mick Jagger to Brian Eno; he's an excellent producer; he's got some respectable multi-instrumental talent (on Station To Station he's credited for playing some of the guitar, saxes, and synths; not bad); he's obviously a great songwriter with a fascinating history; and he's a pretty good vocalist and charismatic frontman as well. All in all, one of the greatest talents of the past 30 or so years. Although his recent work hasn't been up to standard, he's still far from washed up, and I admire the fact that he's still trying new things while most other artists settle into their own groove and never progress (AC/DC, anyone?).

However, if it actually came down to fistcuffs The Ig would pound Reed and Bowie into powder and snort 'em. He's survived drug addictions, bar brawls, the aforementioned onstage antics, and God knows what else--even in his fifties he could wipe the floor with those androgynous pantywaists, no question.: P It would be fun to watch.